Bharati Mukerjee's A father

Who Needs A Man Anyway?

            Babli, Mr Bhowmick’s daughter embodies the epitome of a strong woman. At only twenty-six years old, she has graduated from Georgia Tech only to become an engineer. To say that she’s an intelligent woman is beyond being modest. Babli, is more than just a brain. She’s determined, smart, motivated and strong willed. So, at the turning point of Bharati Mukerjee’s “A Father,” when it is revealed that such a woman is pregnant, it is a complete surprise. When carefully scrutinizing Babli’s character, one can conclude her to represent that of a modern day feminist. However, for a young, progressive Indian-American girl growing up in a strict, Indian household, Mukherjee does a great job biringing a sense of psychology as well as tradition and culture full circle. Babli, the strong, independent career woman wanting a child can be said to have a strong connection with her relationship with men.  

            Early on in the story, readers can deduce that Mr. Bhowmick feels a strong sense of both disappointment as well as disconnection with the women in his family. “Family life had been turbulent” (345). Mr. Bhowmic further goes on to reveal the intimate details of his domestic relationship with his wife and the lack of love he has for her. “He did not love his wife now, and he had not loved her then” (345). Since their marriage began up until present day, it is understood that he has never loved his wife. In turn, this is unfortunate to comprehend, because his lack of love for his wife trickles down and ultimately affects their daughter. Babli, who certainly is more American than her mother, has developed her personality from both her mother as well as her father, only Mr. Bhowmick cannot accept either of the women in his household because they don’t exemplify the tradition in which he was raised on.

She wasn’t womanly or tender the way that unmarried girls had been in the wistful days of his adolescence. She could sing Hindi film songs, mimicking exactly the high, artificial voice of Lata Mungeshkar, and she had taken two years of dance lessons at the Sona Devi’s Dance Academy in Southfield, but these accomplishments didn’t add up to real femininity. Not the kind that had given him palpitations in Ranchi (341).

In the context of this quote is it disclosed just how well rounded Babli is, yet how she still isn’t good enough for her father. Like Babli’s mother, Mr. Bhowmick is just incapable of loving and accepting her for who and what she is.

When applying a more psychological lens into the character of Babli, one can reason that her decision to artificially inseminate herself speaks volumes and directly correlates to the turbulent relationship that she has with that of her father. Although it is imperative that children have a balance of love and affection from both parents, often times for young girls, especially, the first form of love is exemplified (or not) through a father or father figure. So the love that Babli has yet to receive from her father will be fulfilled through the birth of a child. Ironically, never in his descriptions does Mr. Bhowmick describe his daughter as being unattractive, or hard-up for finding a mate. So, for her to want to parent a child singularly is definitely quite odd. Perhaps this is the outcome of the parental absenteeism in which she has experienced during her developmental years of childhood. Because Mr. Bhowmick was (and still is) essentially an absentee father, Babli has developed a jaded opinion of men as a result. “Men louse up your lives. I just want a baby” (349). Babli was never shown love or affection and never seen it occur in her household between her parents so she too will perhaps be incapable of giving love to her offspring.

This short story really touched me in a personal way. I consider myself to be a feminist, so I commend female characters like Babli and all of her accomplishments, as well as disapprove of men who think like Mr. Bhowmick. Because, in my household, I have a relationship with my father that that mirrors the complete opposite, this may be the reason in which one can understand just how crucial a healthy father-daughter relationship truly is. In life, women like Babli will always be aiming to fill that void in their heart.